U.S. Senate Vote Could End Push For Marriage Amendment


A procedural vote Wednesday could end U.S. Senate consideration of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Democrats threaten to filibuster anything other than a straight up-or-down vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment. Republicans are believed to lack the 60 votes required to consider any changes.

But the amendment's sponsor, Colorado Republican Wayne Allard, said, "We're just beginning to defend marriage, and this debate may go well beyond this year."

Missouri Republican Jim Talent said Americans of all races and religions support traditional marriage and believe that children do best in a family with a mother and a father.


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Symbolic support for gay marriage
by Sean Sands
Staff Writer
Takoma Park becomes first in state to back same-sex unions


Declaring efforts to put a same-sex marriage ban in the U.S. Constitution as "repugnant," Takoma Park this week became the first jurisdiction in Maryland to formally support marriage for gays and lesbians.

Although Monday's City Council action, which came in the form of a non-binding resolution, is largely ceremonial because state law vests the authority to issue marriage licenses with the 23 counties and the City of Baltimore, local lawmakers hailed the measure as an important step in creating grassroots support for the issue.

"This is the first step of this community standing behind you," Councilwoman Heather Mizeur (Ward 2) told an audience of same-sex marriage supporters both gay and straight, "and we will continually look for progressive and creative ways to stay on-record and keep our community at the forefront of this debate."

The timing of Takoma Park's action is important, Mizeur said, because of same-sex marriage developments at both the state and federal level.